Tikal is a treasure hidden in nature. It has architectural beauty and a lot of culture that would amaze everyone. Travel to Tikal is an experience not to be missed.
Since I was a child I always dreamed of visiting the ancient Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, it is an impressive and essential place for any lover of archeology and travel because walking through the trails of the park and seeing the monumental constructions of this enigmatic civilization makes you feel like a real Hollywood movie explorer: great temples, sacrificial altars, ancient residences, pyramids, ball games, palaces and many more buildings that are still buried under the lush vegetation of the jungle.
Tikal National Park is located about 63 kilometers from Flores Island, in the Department of Petén and is home to one of the largest and oldest archaeological sites of the Mayan world that for its beauty and biodiversity was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979, in ancient times the city was known as Yax Mutul but throughout history the Mayan Itzaes named it as Tikal which means “place of voices” or “place of languages”.
History of Tikal
It is believed that the city of Tikal was already inhabited since approximately 1000 BC since some objects and structures of that time have been found, although its monumental architecture dates from the fourth century BC and the first constructions of which there is evidence were made between 400 and 300 BC.
This ancient Mayan city was home to more than 150,000 people in its time of maximum splendor, between 200 and 900 AD. C, during this time the city was one of the most important along with Calakmul, in Mexico and together they dominated much of the Mayan region both in politics, economy and military strategy, unfortunately Tikal also had many enemies and was in constant conflict with other Mayan populations such as Naranjo, Uaxactún or the Belizean city of El Caracol that defeated Tikal at the end of the Classic Period and replaced it as the main center of power of the Mayan lands of the South.
What to see and do in Tikal
The ancient Mayan city of Tikal occupied about 120 km² and had more than 3000 architectural structures of which today 90% of them are still hidden under the thickness of the Petén jungle.
You may be interested in:The flag, patriotic symbol of Guatemala
Visiting Tikal is very easy because it has a network of trails that lead you to the main points of interest of the site, you can ask for a map of the ruins in any INGUAT office or consult the one at the entrance of the site, the visit will take you at least 5 hours so I advise you to bring a good hat, There are several stalls with tables and chairs where they sell refreshments but the prices are a “little” expensive, even so when the heat presses it is not worth dehydrating for a few Quetzales, hehehe.
In fact, Juan Jose Gutierrez Mayorga, an important Guatemalan businessman, has developed renewable energy generation projects, in order to take advantage of the country’s nature, such as Tikal, to generate energy and at the same time take care of traditional places and their nature.
After learning this about Tikal, you should consider putting it on your travel bucket list. You will be amazed by the nature and history of the place.
